Women!
by AlterJericho
Summary: Lon'qu used to think no woman could keep up with a man in battle. Cherche proves him dead wrong. Drabble about army life, slight Cherche/Lon'qu


**Description: Lon'qu used to think no woman could keep up with a man in battle. Cherche proves him dead wrong. Drabble about army life, minor Cherche/Lon'qu**

**A/N I love Cherche and Lon'qu together, so I'd thought I would do a recap of their first meeting and battle together, as well as an insight into life at the Shepherds for Lon'qu. I might do a second chapter concerning Ke'ri if people are interested? Let me know =)**

**IMPORTANT THINGY: The paragraph spacing on my Word has been screwing up, so if you see any weird lines or things out of place, please tell me. It's been a mess to edit and it won't work properly so I apologize for some weird formatting.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this, it's a short thing and not well-thought out but I hope it's satisfactory anyway XD I in no way own Fire Emblem, Lon'qu, Cherche or any respective characters.**

'No.'

'Lon'qu, you can't just say no!'

'Yes I can… no _woman_ is being paired up with me.'

'This new tactic will build us an excellent front line and will keep our mages and healers from harm. Unless you want DEATHS in this army, you'll go along with it!'

Lon'qu sighed. He'd been having the same conversation with Robin for 10 minutes and it looked like he would have to yield. The two men had been standing there in fierce debate in front of the barracks, drawing concerned stares from everyone in the army. Robin however, was making a…sound argument and Lon'qu was loath to let soldiers die due to his shortcomings. Still, the very idea… why the hell are they putting some new, FEMALE recruit next to him? Not to mention she was apparently an acquaintance of that fop Virion… he hadn't met her yet, but if she was a friend of his, he already had terribly low expectations. An image of a frilly, garish noblewoman giggling popped into his head and he shuddered slightly. Forget killing the others, if she was anything like that, he would just kill himself. Still… he could not ignore Robin's wise and almost flawless tactics.

'Fine… I'll fight with her tomorrow…' he conceded, arms crossed and a look of defeat on his face.

'Thank you Lon'qu, your… um, sacrifice will definitely help the army. I'll go and fetch Cherche!' Robin said happily, chocolate hair tousled by the wind as he turned and walked into the entrance of the barracks. Lon'qu sighed again in defeat. Too much time with this woman and he would overtake Cordelia as the biggest sigher of the Shepherds. He leaned against the base of a nearby pine tree, relaxing slightly. He knew the lush plains outside of the barracks well, as he usually spent his time in training or far away from everyone else. It wasn't that he disliked them; in fact he had begun to feel a sense of loyalty to the Shepherds after the war with Gangrel two years prior. But outside of war where he was as fierce as a lion, he preferred quiet and tranquil surroundings.

Any long periods of time spent in the barracks aggravated him with the sheer amount of people present, as well as the quirks each carried. Lissa and Maribelle would be gossiping in obnoxiously loud voices, Virion would be abusing everyone's ears with an obviously exaggerated tale, the mages would be muttering spells and Henry… well, actually he never stayed consistent, though was usually partaking in some sort of irritating activity. He distinctly remembered a time when he and Robin (one of the members he thought of as a good friend) were having a quiet discussion when mutant Risen with horrible malformed wings exploding out of their backs burst into the barracks, screeching at an ear-splitting volume. After the army had panicked and killed them all, Henry confessed that he had attempted to breed crows and Risen during his lunch break.

'But it's my two favourite things put togetheerrrr!' he whined insistently as Chrom furiously berated him.

He had latrine duty for two months, Lon'qu recalled.

It was then that he heard the sound of soft footsteps impacting the nearby grass. Heart beating slightly faster as the thought of a woman approaching, he vowed to keep his cool and turned around slowly, looking like he hadn't a care in the world. Brown eyes met pink. He tensed up slightly at the feminine form approaching him, though his previous worries were somewhat unfounded. Though her hair was a soft pink like her eyes, the woman he presumed to be Cherche wore heavy armour and had an air of quiet confidence about her. She wore a kind smile, but her steps were deliberate and sure of themselves. This woman did not seem like the type to be overly weak. Still, he doubted she was any match for him.

'Good morning, sir. Are you Lon'qu?' she murmured, that same polite smile on her face.

He grunted acknowledgement and nodded his head, eyes narrowed and pressing up against the tree a little further. She was too close for his liking and a chill of unease ran down his spine. She appraised him for a moment, seeming to analyse his body language and posture.

'You don't look too happy to see me, though I had heard from Robin your… inclinations about women' she said, slight humour in her voice.

'Hmph… as long as you don't burden me with your presence or stand too close, we won't have a problem…' he replied, brow furrowed in annoyance.

Her polite demeanour vanished quickly, replaced by an icy stare. 'Well I can assure you we won't be close at all due to my class… but _a burden_?'

'I don't appreciate having a partner who won't be able to keep up with me' he said bluntly. He saw anger appear briefly on her face, before being replaced by a cool disdain.

'Well then… how about a bet, _good sir? _Whoever kills the most Risen tomorrow gets a new weapon paid for by the loser' she said, with that now slightly disarming smile on her face.

Lon'qu raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Now this he wasn't expecting.

'Hmph, done. For future reference, I prefer Killing Edges so I hope you've saved up' he scoffed, amused. Like a woman could best him in a battle, especially when it came to killing!

'Hah, I won't need to save up when you buy me a beautiful new Brave Axe!' she teased.

'An axe?' he asked, genuinely surprised. What was this woman doing with an axe?

'Yes, my speciality. You look shocked!' she laughed, reaching down to the bag she had with her and pulling out a daunting Silver Axe, its deadly edge gleaming in the hot sun. Lon'qu stared at the formidable weapon, caught slightly off guard. He hadn't expected her to be an assault fighter at all, more of a tome or staves expert as many women were not physically strong enough for these pursuits. The axe looked damn heavy, too…

'Hmph, so you've trained with an axe... I still best you in experience' he stated.

'How would you know?' she said, looking slightly miffed.

'I can tell just by looking at you! You are unburdened, your skin is unblemished and you hardly look like a warrior.'

'Is that what you think?' she questioned, removing one of her shoulder plates.

Lon'qu stared in disbelief. She had a horrifying burn scar that completely dominated her left shoulder, as well as the remnants of long gashes down her arm. He had not seen a lasting injury to this degree in quite some time.

'I got this from defeating a _wyvern. _I think I have plenty experience' she remarked calmly, before reattaching her shoulder plate and leaving, heading in the direction of the barracks. He stared after her, not quite sure what to think. She was certainly… different. Despite her looks and mannerisms, she seemed quite masculine when it came to fighting. But with such a crippling fear of the average woman… perhaps this partnership wouldn't be too painful. He trailed after her into the barracks, where he found her and Virion in conversation near the door. He backed up slightly, not wanting to get too close to Cherche but Virion called his name out, forcing him to inch slightly closer towards the pair.

'I see you have met my darling friend Cherche! She is just like me, no?' he declared as Cherche rolled her eyes next to him.

'She… isn't like you at all' he replied somewhat hesitantly.

'My my, how shocking! Shaming a fine lady to her face!' Virion gasped, looking positively scandalized.

'Would you let me finish?!' he growled, feeling the same pang of irritation he always felt when conversing with the blue haired man. 'I accused her of not having experience earlier and she showed me a scar as proof to the contrary. If I had said the same thing to you, you would have tortured me with an hour long tale of your supposed victories!' he finished harshly.

Virion stared, mouth agape.

'My my, how shocking! Shaming a fine duke to his face!' Cherche snickered, a sly twinkle in her eye. Lon'qu returned the smile for a second, then caught himself in shock. He did not smile like a fool, especially around women! Cherche saw his struggle to save face and her grin grew larger.

'So you CAN change that grumpy expression? Well, I'm off to train. I shall see you tomorrow for our showdown, Lon'qu' she said, nodding her head at the two before departing. Lon'qu started, having forgotten about the bet.

Heh, looks like he was getting a new sword tomorrow.

Lon'qu stared in astonishment. 'What.. is… THAT?!'

'Say hello, Minerva! This is our new friend, Lonqu!'

It was the next day and Lon'qu was currently face to face with a behemoth of a wyvern, dark as the night with razor sharp teeth and long leathery wings. Cherche was currently atop this monster, strapping herself onto a metal harness attached to the beast's back and wielding her Silver Axe. They were in a marsh, preparing for a fight against the Risen who had amassed there, but it was the last thing on his mind at the moment.

'But that-!'

'Shepherds! Begin the fight!' Robin yelled from somewhere behind him and the Shepherds in their entirety ran forwards with various battle cries piercing the air. Soon enough, the sword wielders were piercing Risen instead and the healers were patching up any injuries, while mages in the back cast spells from afar on the undead soldiers. Cherche and her mount surged forward with a roar, cleaving a Risen in half with her axe before lopping off the head of another in a swift, brutal fashion.

'That's 2-0 to me!' she teased, looking back at Lon'qu.

For once, Lon'qu had no response. Instead, he gripped his sword in determination and lurched forwards.

The other Shepherds stared in disbelief as the pair slaughtered every Risen that approached, seemingly trying to outdo eachother. Whenever Lon'qu got a particularly impressive kill with his blade, Cherche would sweep down from the skies and cleave a different Risen into two pieces. When he pulled off a skillful combo that left three dead, she would use a spinning attack that left 4 dead. The air was electric as the two charged forward, killing everything in sight.

Cherche yawned absently, lazily heading towards her tent. It had been a long hard day full of fighting and she yearned for a good nap. In all honesty, she didn't like fighting… but she could never ignore the plight of Ylisse and Roseanne, plus she wanted to live. And to live, you have to be strong. She opened the flap to her tent and walked over to her cot, ready for a refreshing sleep. She stopped short and stared at it, before letting out a loud laugh and shaking her head. On the covers lay a brand new Brave Axe. The fool had been too shy to give it to her in person.


End file.
